Florida has doubled its variety of legislation enforcement recruits — to 1,400 — since December as police departments throughout the nation are struggling to seek out new hires.
“In Florida, our primary precedence is to guard Floridians, and one of the best ways to do this is by supporting the legislation enforcement officers who hold our communities secure,” Gov. Ron DeSantis stated in an announcement Wednesday.
“My administration will proceed to ship on our guarantees by prioritizing law-and-order insurance policies and making Florida the most effective state to be a legislation enforcement officer.”
The Sunshine State has attracted a slew of latest officers since DeSantis launched the Florida Legislation Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program final 12 months, which affords a one-time $5,000 bonus to new police hires within the state.
To this point, 431 recruits have relocated to Florida, together with 155 from New York, California and Pennsylvania, DeSantis stated, including that crime in his state is at a 50-year-low.


DeSantis, 44, has launched into a nationwide pro-police tour, blasting liberal bail insurance policies in Democrat-run cities like New York Metropolis, forward of his broadly anticipated 2024 presidential run.
“In the event you’re disenchanted, when you don’t assume issues are going to show round wherever you might be — not simply in New York, wherever — simply know that there’s a state that’s doing it proper. “There’s a state that can worth your service,” DeSantis advised cops throughout a go to to Staten Island Feb. 20.
In 2022, the NYPD noticed 3,701 cops retire or resign — probably the most for the reason that post-9/11 exodus in 2002, when 3,846 cops stated goodbye to the job, based on information obtained by The Publish.
Bail reform, resentment for town’s vaccination mandate, the defund-the-police motion, cops feeling disrespected and the lure of upper pay and decrease stress has pressured New York’s Most interesting into retirement or to different police departments.
Florida’s surging police recruitment is an anomaly in comparison with nationwide developments.
Officer retirements throughout the US are up 45% and resignations rose 18%, based on a nationwide survey by the Police Govt Analysis Discussion board from June 2021, the newest numbers accessible.